Good Girl
by PiranhaMoe
Summary: Some wounds are too deep to heal, sometimes there are no words to make things better. After some hurtful words from Ryuuji, Taiga begins to break down. Can Ryuuji fix what he broke before she does something...unthinkable?
1. Words To Wound

_Author's note:__ This is meant to take place the first year Taiga and Ryuuji knew each other, early November, well before Christmas._

In a fit of rage, Taiga flung the plate of food onto the tatami mats where it shattered. She then stomped towards the door. From the kitchen came the deeply offended voice of Ryuuji.

"Hey! I don't care if you are in a pissy mood; you don't come over to someone's house and break their things!"

"Rot in hell…" Taiga grumbled back while on the move.

She had been acting foul the entire night, complaining of headaches, an upset stomach and just generally being a misery to be around. Inevitably they had ended up having a fight which culminated in Taiga becoming so angry that she threw a plate on the floor, spilling the food and breaking the plate. Ryuuji had had enough, that plate was one of the few things Yasuko had brought with her from her parent's house. It had been in the family at least 25 years and now she was going to just walk off scot-free like she always does when they fight. But not tonight, Ryuuji stood at the narrow entrance to the kitchen blocking her way, he had more to say and tonight she would listen.

"You're always like this, you say and do whatever you want and just leave. Then, you'll act like nothing happened no apology or anything. Well…I'm not letting you leave tonight until you apologize for breaking Yasuko's plate!"

"Get out of the way, you were the one being insufferable, it was just a stupid plate you can get a new one!"

Taiga was like a caged animal agitatedly pacing back and forth in front of Ryuuji. What was with her? Even for Taiga this was a new low.

"All I want is an apology, is that too much to ask?!"

"I have nothing to apologize for and unless you get out of my way I'll break something else!"

She said these last words while staring directly into Ryuuji's eyes, they were clearly meant to be a promise of physical pain. But while staring into Taiga's eyes, he couldn't help but notice how bloodshot they were, _something seems wrong_. He relaxed his posture, and instantly took up his usual caring demeanor. In his mind he had already forgotten about the plate when…

"Gaah!" Taiga had taken the opportunity to shove Ryuuji to the left with enough force that he toppled backwards banging his head on the stove. Ryuuji held his head and grit his teeth in pain. Unseen by Ryuji, Taiga turned back momentarily with a look of concern.

"Damn it that hurt!"

That shove was nothing like her usual acts of violence. For the first time since he had known her, Ryuuji felt like she had actually been _trying_ to hurt him. She slipped on her shoes and was now working on the buttons of her large white coat. This was too much, the last straw and now she was going to get away, well not without a final jab.

"Now I know why your parents don't want you around!"

Ryuuji immediately regretted those words, more so than anything he had ever said. He wanted to catch the words before they reached Taiga's ears but of course this was impossible. With Taiga facing away from him, to Ryuuji it looked as if she had just taken some bitter medicine. Her whole body shook momentarily; her voice was nowhere to be found. With movements that could be described at best as wobbly, Taiga opened the door and proceeded outside in a manner more accustomed to a malfunctioning windup doll than a human. The door closed with a quiet click, a far cry from the usual bang characteristic of such angry exits.

_Should I go after her? I don't even know what I'd say…_ _What can I say? _Shaking his head Ryuuji mournfully cried "What have I done…"

At the moment all she could think about was putting distance between herself and Ryuji, she took off running down the street. The sun had set several hours ago and the cold air that rushed past stung her cheeks. Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face. She had gone too far this time; _Ryuuji hates me now, why else would he have said what he did?_ _He had never said anything this hurtful before... _Taiga slowed her pace, she had reached downtown. The shops were all brightly lit; there were even a few that had begun displaying Christmas decorations despite it only being early November. _What he said wasn't untrue, because I am the way I am, my parents didn't want me around, abandoned me, don't love me; _Her thoughts sunk lower and lower. As she passed shop after shop, not even the occasional Christmas decoration was enough to assuage the anger flaring up inside her. She punched a nearby brick building with her mittened hands.

"Damn it! I don't need them! I don't need anyone!" _Not even Ryuuji_ she almost added. _I don't need them to love me… I've lived my whole life without their love and I can damn well keep on living without it! _She glanced down and in frustration realized she was wearing Ryuuji's scarf… She had always been able to say that no matter how bad things got at least Ryuuji would be there, now she wasn't so sure. A smile that would look right at home on death row passed across her face. _There must be something wrong with me to make someone as kind as Ryuuji hate me, maybe I'm just unlovable. _She ended up at the train station and took a seat on a nearby bench. Not sure what else to do, she closed her eyes.

She found herself sitting in class as Koigakubo Yuri (29 and single, even in dreams) lectured to the class. Taiga didn't feel like paying attention and tried to block out what she said. However, she heard something odd; "As you know, there are two types of people in this world: the loved and the unloved".

"Huh?" _What kind of a lecture is this?"_

"Of course,we're all loved here, even me. What I lack in romantic endeavors, my family more than makes up for! Now, the loved control everything and only keep the unloved around for their own amusement. In this class, our unloved little jester is…. Aisaka Taiga!" Hearing this, Taiga stood up at her desk and in a panic, realized everyone was staring at her. She ran for the door but tripped and fell flat on her face as peals of laughter rang out all around her. In a fit of desperation she turned her head towards Ryuuji, her eyes silently pleading for help. Ryuuji sat at his desk looking at her severely. He got up, walked towards her and offered her a hand. But before Taiga could reach it, another student stood up and held Ryuuji back, it was Minori.

"No, no Takasu-kun, you've got to treat the unloved like the trash they are, watch!"

She kicked Taiga hard in the stomach. "Ugh!" Again and again Minori drove her foot into Taiga's abdomen, the room began to spin and voices started to fade. The last audible voice was Minori saying:

"See Takasu-kun, then you leave them there on the floor like the trash they are…"

The room disappeared and reformed around her. She now found herself lying on the floor of her room in the first house she had lived in. She was holding a crayon, drawing a picture while kicking her legs and humming happily. _I remember that picture; I made it when I was six. I worked on it all day, I was really proud of it. _The picture was of a sunset over the ocean with a man, a woman and a little girl playing in the sand.

"There!" Apparently happy with the finishing touches, six year old Taiga stood up and began walking with picture in hand down the long hallway and to the right, into the living room. In the living room sat Taiga's mother with a bottle of spirits and a tiny glass full of ice. Her face darkened at the sudden appearance of her daughter. Undaunted, Taiga made her way towards her while saying:

"Look mommy I drew a picture, it's of you and me and daddy at the beach."

Taiga's mother held out her hand in a halting gesture which froze Taiga midstep. "I don't want to see it if it's got that scumbag in it". Silence filled the room, broken only by the clinking of ice cubes shifting in the tiny glass. "Leave mommy alone". Not willing to press her luck any further, Taiga turned and left immediately.

Discouraged but still hopeful, she made her way back into the long hallway past her room and into a room on the left. It was an office and sitting at a large mahogany desk with his back towards her, was Taiga's father.

"Look daddy I drew you a picture and wanted you to see it!"She held the picture out in front of her with both hands.

Never turning around, Taiga's father said in a dull tone "That's nice Taiga, put it with the others on the fridge." _At least look at her when she's talking to you damn it… _Six year old Taiga glanced around the room struggling to think of something more to say.

"This one's a… a special picture, see look!" Taiga could feel every note of desperation in her voice. _Just look at her picture!_

"That's nice Taiga, put it with the others, daddy's busy right now" he said in a firmer voice than before all the while looking at his papers.

Again six year old Taiga stood fumbling in the doorway, trying to think of something to say. After several seconds of trying, she gave up and walked out of the room. She headed towards the kitchen wearing a look of failure. _Now I remember thinking: I'll just be a good girl and put it on the fridge, maybe they'll see it there, and then I'll get a glass of milk to cheer me up. _Picking a blue magnet that roughly matched the color of the ocean; she hung the picture next to the others she had drawn. First, she scooted a nearby chair away from the dining table and towards the counter. Taiga stood on the chair and opened the cabinet; she grabbed a large glass and placed in on the counter. _I didn't want to make a mess, I was careful…_ Next, she opened the fridge and grabbed the milk. _I had to be careful…_ Cautiously she poured the milk into the glass making sure not to spill a drop. _I knew what would happen otherwise…_ Finally, she pushed the chair back into its original position. With a relieved sigh, she picked up and carried the glass back towards her room. Several steps in she tripped and fell. The glass of milk shattered against the kitchen floor. Taiga's hands quickly followed the glass to the floor and broken pieces embedded themselves into her skin. The loud shattering of the glass was followed by a terrified whimper as Taiga looked down at her hands to find them bloody.

"What was that?" Her father's voice called out, "Could you get that I'm busy right now."

"Always passing things off to me, remember last week when she wet the bed? I handled that it's your turn!" Her mother's voice was quick to retort.

"Don't give me that crap, I'm the one who pays the bills around here, make yourself useful for once and see what she's done this time!"

More and more words of increasing severity were shouted into the air as they continued their fight from several rooms away. _I had done it again; they were fighting because of me…. I didn't know what to do… _Taiga ran to her room and slammed the door behind her. She leaned against a wall before crumpling into a fetal position. The voices still continued shouting in the distance, every word still audible. Baring a face of anguish and sheer terror, she used her bloody hands to cover her ears. Everything around her began to fade away. Taiga woke up, cold, sitting on a bench at the train station. Her head burned like fire as she gave way to uncontrollable sobs. _They'll pay… They'll all pay…_


	2. Words Of Concern

Ryuuji was concerned to say the least. He has spent the night pacing his room waiting for the light in Taiga's apartment to turn on. It wasn't until 4am that Taiga flicked the switch indicating she was finally back and he tried to get some sleep. In the morning just as Ryuuji was dragging himself out of bed he happened to glance out of the balcony window and see Taiga fully dressed and walking towards school several hours early_. I can appreciate her being early but this is just too strange, did she even sleep last night?_

Still not sure of what to say, as he walked to school alone he decided a sincere apology was probably best. When he entered the classroom, Taiga was sitting at her desk looking numb or perhaps just tired. A closer look revealed that her red school jacket was crooked because she had missed a button and her white collar was crumpled and misshapen. She had stray hairs sticking out every which way like springs popping out of an old mattress and besides the dark circles around her eyes; her face had an overall clammy appearance.

Ryuuji set his things down at his desk, took a deep breath and walked over to the aloof Taiga. Only a small flick of her eyes in his general direction indicated she acknowledged Ryuuji's presence. _Best to deal with the elephant in the room first…_

"Hey… about yesterday… I'm sorry, I was just angry and you know I didn't mean it, right?"

She didn't reply. _Looks like she's using her cold shoulder tactic… at least it's something I've seen before._

"I made you lunch… I'll just leave it here." Ryuuji set the wrapped bento on the corner of her desk. To fill the ensuing silence, Ryuuji brought up a topic he knew she would listen to: dinner.

"Tonight I was going to make a yellowfin hotpot, I know yellowfin are expensive but this week they're on sale so it's actually quite a deal. I have some spices I can add that I think will really-"

"Leave me alone!" Taiga cut in with an empty voice that left a chill running down Ryuuji's spine. She thrust the bento into his gut and turned her body to face the wall to the right of her desk.

Ryuuji was left dumbstruck. His mouth hung slightly open and his heart began beating rapidly. _She's never rejected food before!_ Ryuuji's brow creased and his worry intensified as he set the bento on his desk and walked out into the hallway towards the vending machines. He stood in front of one of the vending machines and stared at it as if deeply contemplating his choice of beverage. As if on cue, Ami showed up with her usual cheerful, stilted greeting.

"Morning Takasu-kun!"

Ryuuji responded in turn with a wave of his hand, selected oolong tea and leaned back against the wall opposite the vending machines. He watched as Ami paid for and obtained a black coffee from the machine. She turned and quickly scanned Ryuuji's face.

"You look tired; don't tell me Takasu-kun's been losing sleep over me!" She proceeded to laugh haughtily at her own joke.

"I've been losing sleep but not over you…"

Her face changed from teaser to trickster as she replied:

"Then I guess it probably has to do with why Aisaka-san looks so out of it this morning. I'm right aren't I?"

Ryuuji's eyes couldn't hide the truth any more than they could have comforted a crying infant.

"I think I did something terrible…"

"Tell me, you know I'll find out anyway and it's definitely more entertaining for me to hear it from you. Go on make me laugh, what did you do now?"

"I… uh, well we were fighting and I might have said something like: now I know why your parents don't want you around."

Ami didn't laugh; instead she was shocked silent until an expression of anger passed across her face.

"God you're an idiot! That was one of the worst things you could have said to her, don't you know anything about abandonment issues? I mean her parents did practically abandon her and here you are jabbing your finger in that wound…"

Ryuuji wondered how Ami knew about Taiga's situation, _had Taiga told her?_

_ "_I know, I know! It was terrible, I feel horrible about it and I've already apologized but she won't talk to me and now she won't even eat my-"

The bell rang and Ami began poking him roughly in the chest.

"Well you have to do something because a simple apology isn't going to cut it! You did this now _you_ have to fix it!"

As Ami hurried off to class, Ryuuji was left standing there in the hallway at a loss for how to heal the wound he had opened up and that apparently only he could fix.

After school, Ami headed to Super Kanoya to pick up something for dinner. It would be another quiet evening alone at home. Maya and Nanako had wanted her to go shopping with them at some no-name boutique on the edge of town. _But I didn't feel like it and besides, they bore me to tears a lot of the time._ She thought about what she told Ryuuji earlier and how she probably should have told him to use this as an opportunity to sever all ties with Taiga and end their unnatural relationship but… after watching Taiga today in class she was glad she had opted to tell him to fix things. It was unnerving to see her cut so deep by mere words; however, much of the words' potency may have come from who delivered them to her. _He really is important to her, maybe too important already. _All Ami knew was that she dreaded seeing Taiga the day Ryuuji inevitably started dating his love Minori…

She crossed the street and continued walking towards her house. As she was passing the park, she noticed a small figure with long brown hair sitting alone on a park bench. Ami stood there on the sidewalk for a minute making up her mind whether to approach her or not. _What could I possibly say?_ Pushing her anxieties aside, she walked over and in a playful manner said:

"Aisaka-san! What are you doing out here alone looking like a gloomy weirdo, huh?"

"Baka-chi… go away, I'm not in the mood to listen to your yapping…"

"Now is that any way to greet a friend?" As she said these words, she wondered if Taiga really did consider her a friend or not. When Taiga failed to respond, Ami set her groceries down and took a seat on the bench.

"Takasu told me what he said and I could tell he was worried about you and for good reason, you don't look well."

"That bastard! Telling people things he shouldn't! And I _don't _give a damn about what he thinks!"

Ami tapped her finger on the bench to quiet her nerves. _Maybe there's nothing I can say…_

"Do you wanna… uh… talk about it… or something?"

"What's this, Baka-chi reveals yet another one of her many faces?" Taiga stood up

"Just now I've decided to release those pictures I took of you onto the internet; I think you owe it to your fans to show them all 150 sides of you."

"What? Why now? I thought you had forgotten about them a while ago…"

"Because everyone loves you… and it pisses me off." With that Taiga walked away with her head down and her hands in the front pockets of her large white coat.

"That's my line…" Ami whispered. She stretched out on the park bench and sighed. _Now why am I sitting here alone looking like a gloomy weirdo?_


	3. Words to Remember

Taiga's plan for revenge involved many steps, only the first of which her feverish mind had fully thought out. She would go to Minori and tell her all about Ryuuji's obsession with her; the boxes of poetry, the mix tapes, all of it. Surely it would be enough to creep Minori out and make things irreversibly awkward between them. This was one of the only weaknesses Ryuuji had that she could exploit to cause him pain. Her plan was to cast him off forever after grandly revealing to him directly that his secret was out. _Then I'll walk away and never talk to him again,_ that was the plan anyway…

Taiga stood across the street from Jonny's and watched through the windows as a spunky girl with red hair ran to and fro delivering food and wiping tables clean. The sun setting painted the sky orange, several clouds lazily drifted along. She knew that the coming situation required spitefulness on her part but at the moment, she felt anything but spiteful. Watching Minori and the clouds move fast and slow respectively, made her feel sleepy and a bit sentimental. She remembered the times her and Minori spent together last year. _All the times she came over to clean and cook for me… _She recalled her first week of school at Ohashi and how quickly Minori had befriended her. _I didn't do anything for her to like me yet she really seemed to go out of her way for me back then. I wonder why? I felt pretty low after first moving here but seeing Minori really brightened my days. For a while, it was all I had to look forward to, her smile._ Taiga was practically weepy eyed by the time Minori got off work and walked outside. She saw Taiga and waved but Taiga kept one hand in her pocket while the other was used to dab her misty eyes.

"Hey Taiga!" Minori got closer; she had changed out of her waitress uniform and now wore sneakers, blue jeans and a green hoodie.

"Hey Minorin! How are you?" She felt like leaping into her arms and hugging her tightly but felt such an action would contradict her reason for being there.

"I'm great, I worked quite a bit today! But what brings you out this way at such an hour?"

Taiga looked to the left and said,

"I just… wanted to talk to you; I wanted to tell you something…"

"Is everything okay?" Her brow wrinkled slightly in concern.

"Yeah, it's just… we don't get a chance to talk much anymore…"

Minori rubbed the back of her own head while saying,

"Ah, yeah I'm always pretty busy aren't I?"

"Yeah…" The sun disappeared, darkness set in, streetlights turned on and stars began to dot the sky. They began walking side by side in the direction of Minori's house. Eventually they came to a section of street that lacked lighting. In the darkness Taiga asked,

"Do you remember the day you first talked to me?"

"Ah, feeling nostalgic, eh Taiga?" She walked with her head tilted up at the stars. "I remember you were a bit cranky that day!"

"I nearly attacked you because you wouldn't get away from me, you were really persistent." There was a lull in the conversation; Taiga cast her eyes down towards the pavement.

"Minorin… why _did_ you become friends with me?" Minori's eyes glittered with starlight as she appeared to be taking her time thinking of how to answer the question.

"I remember seeing you standing at your locker one day. You looked kinda lonely… like you could use a friend. I walked over to you and when you got angry at me, I kept at it because I knew that wasn't who you were, that there had to be a gem of a person under that anger, and you know what? I was right!" She smiled.

"Then, why did you come over all the time to cook and clean for me?"

"I did it because that's what friends do, they help each other out." She smiled and Taiga did her best to smile back but managed only a grimace. _I've never helped her with anything, some friend I am… _They walked on in silence occasionally broken by Minori yawning or stating how beat she was. Taiga couldn't stop thinking of last year, waiting by the door for her to come, the way her heart leapt when she heard the knob begin to turn. And then she thought of the days she would wait and no one would come. How those days kept increasing until eventually she stopped coming altogether. And then the days where she could hardly bring herself to get out of bed in the morning, like someone had taken away her sunshine. Those feelings… they weren't the first time she had felt them…

Taiga was no longer feeling sentimental. Her voice quavered as she broke the silence and asked,

"Minorin… why'd you stop coming over?" Taiga stopped walking. Minori's hand which she had been brushing up against the stone wall lining the sidewalk fell limply to her side.

"…I got busy, I picked up more jobs. You gotta labor, right?" Something in Taiga broke and rage began dominating her expression,

"But why'd you pick up those other jobs in the first place? Why'd it feel like you were running away from me?" Minori became nervous, like some animal that had suddenly found itself trapped.

"Taiga… I just wanted to save up some money and—"

"Don't give me that shit! At least have the decency to tell me _why_ you abandoned me!" Her anger no longer concealed, rang out in her now loud voice.

"Taiga… you're not thinking right, let me take you to a doctor, you're sick!" Minori attempted to grab Taiga's hand only to have her own hand slapped away. Taiga's lip began to snarl, her bloodshot eyes pierced straight through Minori.

"Then tell me—"She grabbed Minori by the throat and slammed her against the stone wall. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME!?" Flashes of her nightmare appeared before her eyes; Images of Minori kicking her repeatedly in the stomach, Minori preventing Ryuuji from helping her, _that stupid smile I waited so long to see!_ All of them bled together painting Taiga's vision blood red. She repeatedly grunted like some demonic bull while maintaining her vice-like grip on Minori's throat.

The red haze faded just enough for her to see Minori's face, thick streams of tears poured down her cheeks while her mouth soundlessly formed the words "I'm sorry" over and over again. Taiga suddenly realized what she was doing and let her go. Minori fell to the sidewalk gasping for air as Taiga took several steps backwards; her hands clasped her own hair and she nodded back and forth as if denying reality. Taiga took off running down the street. Lights whizzed by at breakneck speeds. She had never run so fast before in her life, nor had she ever been this scared. After all, she was running from the most terrifying monster she knew of: herself.


	4. Words to Heal

Half-hysterical, Taiga ran home and locked the door behind her. She threw her coat on the floor; underneath she still wore her school uniform. Panting, trying to catch her breath, she went into the bathroom and splashed herself with cold water. As she lifted her face from the sink, her eyes gazed intensely into the mirror. She almost couldn't recognize the beast that gazed back. Eyes bloodshot and full of fear, her whole body shook. _This is who I am, this monster. Violent, unstable and cold, who could love something like that?_ _Not my parents… Not me…._

"I hate you…"She whispered to the mirror. And all at once she realized the person she wanted to hurt the most had been herself all along_. BAM!_ She slammed her forehead against the mirror, cracking it.

"I HATE YOU!" She yelled as she reeled her head back and smashed it a second time into the mirror, shattering it. Blood began running down her forehead, the room started to spin slowly. Broken glass crunched beneath her feet as she moved them to maintain her footing even as her body insisted on swaying. Screaming hysterically, she grabbed the largest piece of glass she could see and threw it against the wall. The rampaging tiger left the bathroom and moved to the living room. The small dining table was easily flipped across the room. The solitary chair that had been neatly pushed into the table was now lifted above her head and in a ferocious display of rage, thrown out the window. More shattered glass fell to the floor and a second later the chair could be heard smashing into the alley below. She managed to shuffle her way to the kitchen next, howling like a banshee. Suddenly, she heard the door fly open and someone stood in the doorway that she had not expected to see…

In the Takasu residence, Ryuuji stood in the kitchen adorned in his green apron busily cooking dinner. He found he did his best thinking while cooking and it was his hope that in the process of making an elaborate dinner, he would think of what to do to make things better with Taiga. So far he had had no luck and in his frustration he began stirring the potatoes more vigorously. The distance between them felt cold and insurmountable. Ryuuji didn't even know how to begin the hike to Taiga and the fear of losing her forever was ever present in his mind. He flicked the burner off and removed the potatoes from the stove top. Though they were done, along with seven other expertly prepared side dishes, he was still not satisfied; an eighth side dish would have to be made.

Just as Ryuuji was sifting through the fridge in search of something more to cook, he heard a loud crashing sound followed by hysterical screaming. The type of scream was unlike anything he had ever heard but the voice… he recognized the voice: _Taiga!_ Without even bothering to close the refrigerator door Ryuuji found himself running to the door and scrambling to put his shoes on. Running into the street, Ryuuji's brain raced through possible explanations each more grim than the last. _Is it a burglar? Should I call the police? Is she being attacked? Should I have brought something to use as a weapon?_ He heard a loud shattering sound to his right and turned his vision in time to see a second story window shatter and a chair tumble into the darkness below. His feet somehow found a way to move faster. Not waiting to be buzzed in, Ryuuji climbed over the gate entirely, threw open the glass door leading into the upscale apartment building and dashed like a madman up the stairs to the second floor.

At the door to the Aisaka residence, he tried the knob and found it locked. He didn't bother knocking and immediately used the key to her apartment that she had given him long ago. He slammed the door open and was horrified by what he saw. Broken glass covered parts of the floor and a trail of red led into the kitchen where he saw Taiga standing with blood now pouring down her face. For a split second he was frozen by fear. _There's someone here… she was attacked... I need to get her out of here as fast as possible!_ He ran towards her while shouting out her name, midway into the living room his progress was halted by something unexpected. Taiga threw several plates in his direction while growling,

"Yooooouuuu! Get the hell out!" After dodging the plates, Ryuuji in his confusion yelled back,

"What? What's happening? Is he behind me?" He turned to check, there was no one behind him. Another flurry of plates were hurled at Ryuuji, he ducked, the plates missed and broke against the opposite wall.

"I hate you! Get out!" Taiga swayed to the side and had to shift her feet to catch herself and remain upright.

"Taiga! What's wrong? What happened? Did… did you do all this?"

Taiga's response was weak and her words lacked any force, "I hate you…. get out…" She moved on to throwing pots and pans but they only ricocheted weakly on the floor in front of Ryuuji, it was clear she was losing strength.

"I'm not leaving! How could I leave you like this? I'll call an ambulance, just lie down, it looks like you've lost a lot of blood."

In a truly disturbing fashion, she began slamming her hands and face against the counter. He had to close the distance between them; he had to make her stop. He maneuvered his way into the kitchen. Taiga began shuffling through the utensil drawer,

"I don't need your help, just leave!" Ryuuji was relieved that at an earlier date they had agreed that because of how accident prone she was that she should never keep knives at her place. Emerging from the drawer with a fork and an ice cream scooper, she said as menacingly as she could still manage,

"If you won't leave then I'll make you!" She lunged at Ryuuji, he caught her by the wrists and the fork and the ice cream scooper clattered to the floor.

"Go! Leave! Just like everyone else!" Through the crimson mask she wore, Ryuuji saw tears welling up in her eyes and quickly felt his heart being pulled in all directions. He realized now just what he had done and how he could fix it. He closed the remaining distance between himself and Taiga, distance he had never crossed before and pulled her into a hug.

"You idiot! I'm not going to leave you, I won't ever go away…"

He saw her eyes close and felt her body tremble as she pressed herself further into his arms. He held her tighter as his own eyes misted up. Her legs gave out and she pulled him down to his knees. As they kneeled there on the kitchen floor still embracing, Taiga's drowsy and muffled voice could be heard saying,

"Ryuuji… I don't feel so good…"

Snapping back to reality, Ryuuji pulled her away from him, stood up, grabbed the kitchen phone and dialed 911. An ambulance was on its way. Taiga, clearly out of it, gazed at the floor while leaning up against the stove. Ryuuji surveyed the damage throughout the room. _And to think all this started over one broken plate… _With his fierce eyes and his apron covered in blood Ryuuji looked like some demonic butcher. He looked down at Taiga, covered in blood she looked like a tiger that had just got done ripping apart its prey.

"Come on, I'll walk you down to the street, they can pick us up there." He wrapped Taiga's arm behind his back and lifted her to her feet. She leaned against him for support and together they slowly made their way to the door. From his side Taiga's delirious voice said,

"Ryuuji, why don't they want me around… I can't figure it out… why don't they love me… I just can't figure it out…"

Ryuuji felt his heart ache strangely as he boldly stated,

"They must be blind. How could anyone see you and not love you?" Taiga's head rolled onto Ryuuji's shoulder, her hair cascaded down his back soft and warm.

"…I did some stupid things… I got into a fight with Minorin…"

"It's okay I'm sure Kushieda will forgive you."

"…and I broke all this stuff and the blood everywhere…"

"It can all be fixed or replaced and I can clean up the blood don't worry about that, try to rest a bit."

They walked on in silence, took the elevator down and waited in the darkness by the street for the ambulance.

"Hey Ryuuji, come here." Taiga faintly said as she lifted her head and beckoned him closer. He leaned his ear closer to hear what she had to say but instead of words, two warm lips pressed themselves against his ear, _mwah._ Her head rolled back onto his shoulder and barely audibly she said, "…good doggie…" and drifted off into unconsciousness.

At the hospital the doctor said she had caught a touch of brain fever and with proper medicine she should be better by the end of the week. When Ryuuji asked the doctor why he used such an archaic term the doctor quipped back, "Oh, I'm sorry are you a doctor? No? I didn't think so." and walked away. She got eight stitches across her forehead and several bouquets of flowers from classmates including one from Kushieda. Taiga slept through the rest of the night and most of the next day. In that time Ryuuji never left her side, from that night on, he was sure he never would.

The End

I hope you enjoyed it, thank you for reading!


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